One step away from a smile, Matteo Berrettini stops on the finishing straight. No tic-tac-toe Stuttgartreassembled by the British Jack Draper. It would have been the ninth tournament of his career, an ATP 250, but instead the Briton lifted the cup.
Berrettini wins the first set
He will rise to sixty-fifth position, gaining thirty in a week, but the regret remains for the final lost in three sets (6-3, 6-7. 4-6). The Italian had started better, taking advantage of his greater experience and, in the first, he broke the British player’s serve in the fourth game and, from 3-1 onwards, he no longer had problems in collecting the fraction.
Draper wins the second set in a tie-break
Mortgaged ending? Relatively, because Draper melted away with emotion and found the first ball again. The balance was perfect, until the tenth game: at 5-4 Draper, it was Berrettini’s turn to serve and, twice, cancel set points. At 5-5, it was the Briton who found himself in difficulty: 15-40. But he managed to save himself.
Draper wins the 250 in Stuttgart
So, tie-break: at 2-2 it is Berrettini who takes a point away from his opponent, who however takes it back immediately. This brings us to 5-5 Berrettini’s serve, but it is Draper who has the chance with a winning return and exploits it with a serve and volley on his serve. We go to the third set.
And here the trend does not change. Balance, but with the perception that Draper will no longer retreat. And, in the seventh game, at 3-3, here is the decisive break from the British player who will close 6-4.
